The sun drops over the western paddocks gliding with ease, from pleasantly warm afternoons, into cool and crisp evenings. The days shorten, as the sun exits earlier, and the moon appears brighter. Bright too are the hordes of unknown constellations filling the night sky, which most nights, of late, have been devoid of clouds, exposing a celestial vista of brilliantly dotted suns. It has a way of putting a man back in his place. The seasons have shifted.

Around dusk we walk the surrounding land picking up fallen sticks and pine cones, kindling for the evenings fire. Its probably not a necessity to light a fire but it sure does wonders for the soul, especially after busy days when you feel you've worked hard all the waking hours but achieved very little. I'm not sure why, but it's the evenings when I complain to myself about what I failed to achieve that day. There is always something needing to be done the following day. Planning the oncoming day is best done in the company of a crackling fire and a glass of pinot.

The food patch, currently in a metamorphic state, is looking a little shabby, rest assured it's very much productive. The many variety of beans, both climbing and bush, are now full of pods ripe with green beans, but we don't eat them now, they're a staple for winter. As are the pumpkins that still grow, resilient for now but soon to be defeated with the first frosts of Autumn. Their bounty, however, will be enjoyed for many months, as will the carrots, kale, spinach, beetroot, parsnip, potato, onion and celery…

This garden, as beautiful as it is to us, is set to be completely demolished in the coming months. A requirement of our rental agreement. There is an element of frustration with this predicament, as I planned to be in this house longer than a year, but that is the unpredictable nature of being a poor man tied to a rental agreement. I dream that one day I may have enough money to purchase the right block of land and own it outright. To build for the future with permanency guaranteed. I see so much good land being used inappropriately or not being used at all, it's often a heartbreaker but I must persevere.

When the time comes to vacate, I'll have to rip up all that work I put into setting up the patch, then move to the new place and start turning the soil to yet again, set up another renters garden. My new landlords have assured me that we will have longevity in our lease, which is very comforting. Thankfully we're moving in early winter when the garden isn't so full of produce, and I've been working hard to bolster of stores in the larder to accommodate any shortfall in food supply.

While we still live here we decided to make the most of the current place, and decided to spend a few nights in the cabin. Just me and my girls, back yard camping for school holidays. No theme parks or indoor play centres, just a smoke house sitting by the veg patch, campfire dinners and plenty of warm blankets. We had a ball.

The wind howled through the trees in the evenings and the morning the early light snuck in through the cracks in the roof. The girls wished they could live in the cabin, and I wished I'd made it bigger. We enjoyed the experience and thats what matters. I hope the kids remember this place, for what it's worth it's been a hectic challenging year for us all. I'm hoping we settle more at the next home.